It wasn't too long ago when scoring goals was the last thing on Charlie Wyke's mind – the Wigan striker was left fighting for his life after suffering a heart attack.
In November 2021, Wyke turned up for a normal training session, but it ended with him being rushed to hospital. Latics boss Leam Richardson's quick-thinking helped save his life – and Richardson performed CPR on the striker.
After multiple heart surgeries, Wyke returned to training, only to suffer another heart attack in April 2022. However, Wyke, with the help of Richardson, never game up on his return.
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But when Richardson was sacked in November 2022, and Wyke injured his knee, the striker began to question his future in football. Speaking to The Sun, Wyke said: "Losing Leam and then doing my knee – it felt like it just wasn’t meant to be.
"My body couldn’t handle it any more. I was overweight – up to 90 kilos – my knee wasn’t right, my head wasn’t right and I was thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this any more’.”
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However, on the opening day of the season, Wigan beat Derby 2-1 – with two both goals from Wyke. That game changed everything, and Wyke added: “I can’t explain the relief I felt when we kicked off with a 2-1 win at Derby and I scored both goals.
“Except to say that, for what felt like the first time in forever, I finally felt normal again.”
Wyke's performances continued to sky rocket, and at the end of August, he was presented with the Sky Bet League One Player of the Month award. He said: "I’m delighted to win the award and personal accolades are always nice but I can’t win this without the help of my teammates and the Gaffer!"
It's been a long road to recovery for Wyke, but football is back on his mind again.
Wyke is currently second in the League One goalscorer charts, with six goals in eight games, and he's only trailing Barnsley's Devante Cole – who was nine.
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